6.  The applicants Talip Kalın, Ali Gezer and Ekrem Ötebay are Turkish citizens who live in Ağrı, Kahramanmaraş and Muş respectively. The first applicant was born in 1967, the second and the third applicants in 1973. They are all represented before the Court by Mr Talat Tepe, a lawyer practising in Istanbul.
7.  The facts of the case, as submitted by the parties, may be summarised as follows.
Application no. 24849/94
8.  On 17 February 1994 the applicant was taken into police custody in Istanbul on suspicion of membership of the PKK. According to the official files the apprehension seems to have occurred on 24 February 1994.
9.  On 28 February 1994 the applicant was interrogated by police officers and made confessions, allegedly under duress.
10.  On 9 March 1994 the applicant, however, denied the allegations against him before the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court (“the public prosecutor”).
11.  On the same day the applicant was seen by a doctor at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute who did not note any signs of beating or injuries on the applicant's body.
12.  On 11 March 1994 the applicant was put in detention on remand. On 22 March 1994 the applicant was further examined by the prison doctor who noted in his report the presence of some injuries on his body.
13.  On 27 March 1994 the applicant filed a complaint with the office of the Istanbul public prosecutor alleging that he had been subjected to torture while in custody, which lasted twenty-three days.
14.  On 23 June 1994 the public prosecutor filed an indictment with the Istanbul State Security Court requesting the conviction and sentencing of the applicant under Article 125 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
15.  On 21 December 1995 the Istanbul public prosecutor filed an indictment with the Istanbul Assize Court against the four police officers who allegedly tortured the applicant.
16.  On 27 June 1996 the Istanbul Assize Court held that there was no evidence on which to convict the police officers. 
Application no. 24850/94
17.  On 9 February 1994 the applicant was taken into police custody in Istanbul on suspicion of membership of the PKK. According to the official files the apprehension seems to have occurred on 28 February 1994.
18.  On 1 March 1994 during interrogation by the police officers the applicant confessed his involvement in certain PKK activities.
19.  On 9 March 1994 the applicant was seen by a doctor at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute who noted the presence of some injuries on the applicant's body, which were not life-threatening but would prevent him from working for two days.
20.  On 9 March 1994 during questioning by the public prosecutor at the Istanbul State Security Court (“the public prosecutor”) the applicant stated that he had signed his statement under duress and denied all the allegations.
21.  On 11 March 1994 the Istanbul State Security Court ordered the applicant's detention on remand.
22.  In an indictment dated 23 June 1994, the public prosecutor requested the conviction and sentencing of the applicant under Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
23.  On 23 March 1994 the applicant was examined by the prison doctor. The doctor noted in his report the presence of fading bruises and injuries on the applicant's body. The applicant later underwent another medical examination where the same fading injuries were noted.
24.  On 11 July 1994 the applicant filed a complaint with the Istanbul public prosecutor alleging that he had been tortured while in custody which had lasted thirty-one days.
25.  On 5 June 1995 the Istanbul public prosecutor filed an indictment with the Istanbul Assize Court against the police officers who allegedly ill‑treated the applicant.
26.  On 23 September 1996 the Istanbul Assize Court rejected the applicant's allegation that he had been tortured due to lack of evidence.
27.  On 5 March 1999 the Istanbul State Security Court acquitted the applicant. 
Application no. 24941/94
28.  On 20 February 1994 the applicant was taken into police custody on suspicion of membership of the PKK. According to the official documents the applicant appears to have been arrested on 7 March 1994.
29.  On 17 March 1994 during his questioning by the police officers the applicant confessed his involvement with the activities of the PKK, allegedly under duress.
30.  On 18 March 1994 the applicant was seen by a doctor at the Istanbul Forensic Medicine Institute who did not note any signs of beating or use of force on his body.
31.  On 21 March 1994 during his questioning before the Istanbul State Security Court the applicant confessed to the charges against him. On the same day the Istanbul State Security Court judge ordered the applicant's detention on remand.
32.  On 23 June 1994 the public prosecutor filed an indictment with the Istanbul State Security Court requesting the conviction and sentencing of the applicant under Article 168 § 2 of the Criminal Code and Article 5 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act.
33.  On 22 March 1994 the applicant was further examined by the prison doctor who noted in his report the presence of some injuries on the applicant's body.
34.  On 9 May 1994 the applicant underwent another medical examination where the doctor noted the previous medical findings as well as other injuries. The report concluded that these injuries were not life-threatening but would prevent the applicant from working for seven days.
35.  On 11 July 1994 the applicant filed a complaint with the office of the Istanbul public prosecutor complaining that he had been tortured while detained in police custody and that his detention period had lasted too long.
36.  On 28 September 1995 the Istanbul public prosecutor filed an indictment with the Istanbul Assize Court (Istanbul Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi) against the police officers who allegedly ill-treated the applicant.
37.  On 7 December 1995 the Istanbul Assize Court rejected the applicant's allegation that he had been tortured. The court reasoned that there was no evidence to support his allegation.
38.  On 5 March 1999 the Istanbul State Security Court ordered that the applicant's case be severed from the cases brought against the other defendants as he had not submitted his defence to the court.